Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Hearting Penélope Cruz Takes Work

Pedro Almodóvar’s buzz worthy Volver will have its North American premiere next month at the 31st Annual Toronto International Film Festival.

I am really looking forward to seeing this film, particularly because of one Penélope Cruz, an actress I have mocked in the past because of her accent (petty – I know – but check out the trailer of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and tell you understand her!) and choices (Tom Cruise – really?).

Up until now, Cruz has pretty much remained an acting enigma to me, yet I’ve tried to keep an open mind when it comes to her because Almodóvar has nurtured her talent.

Set in Spain, Volver follows a generational story of three women: a good mother who is desperately in love with a man who is far from being a saint, a young mother carrying a hard life upon her shoulders (Cruz’s character), and a hairdresser whose shop is the meeting point for all the neighborhood gossips.

The film has already garnered Cruz rave reviews. Actually, she and her female co-stars – The Sea Inside’s Lola Dueñas, Yohana Cobo, Chuse Lampreave, Blanca Portillo, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown’s Carmen Maura – shared the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. So not to repeat myself, I am really looking forward to seeing her in this.


Volver is set to open in limited release on Nov. 3.

Photo: Sony Pictures Classics.

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